From looking at Damon Slater's CSR, there are no details of his court martial, he was under arrest from Oct 1864 until Dec 1864 awaiting court martial, Dec return states "in arrest awaiting promulgating of sentence". Jan 1865, company return shows him on 60 days leave to NW Texas. I assume he was found not gulity.

As to him returning from leave there is no record of it in his records. Starting in about Mar 1865 a lot of soldiers gave up and went home, since he was already home he may have stayed. He may have also joined up with a unit in his neigborhood, this was not that uncommon. A white lie that he could not get back to his unit in the "east", and as short of soldiers as most units where at that time he was welcome.

If you can find a pension application it would help, if he was AWOL he would not have been granted a pension.

Mike